Amusement parks are enjoying a continuously increasing success throughout the country, as well as throughout the rest of the world. These parks offer their guests a wide range of attractions, the most popular and most spectacular of which is certainly recognized as the roller coaster. Traditionally, roller coasters comprise one or more ride vehicles traveling along rails or tracks in the manner of a train. The passengers appreciate this attraction for the strong impressions which it produces beyond the real sensations of acceleration along the path of travel. That is, these rides also attempt to incorporate a feeling of dizziness or fear and an illusion of risk. Traditional roller coasters enable thrilling motions along loops, spirals and curves to be integrated into the ride.
Another type of ride comprises a vehicle supported on and guided along a track structure. The side mounting of the ride vehicle on the track may provide passengers with the sensation that the ride vehicle does not ride on a track structure and seems free from any mechanical tether to any visible or predetermined course. However, because of the need to maintain control and safety of the ride vehicles, the most severe spirals and loops designed into traditional roller coasters have not typically been present in these alternate ride systems. As a result, the range of sensations offered to passengers is reduced with the passengers' sensation of motion generally dictated by the velocity, acceleration and positioning of the ride vehicle in direct juxtaposition to its path of travel. When it was technically impossible to increase the ride experience of such ride systems, themeing of rides was used to present amusing and entertaining backdrops, scenery, lighting, sound and other special effects.
Notwithstanding these attempts to amplify the thrill of a ride in roller coasters and in alternate ride systems, there remains a definite need for an amusement ride that is capable of enhancing the overall sensation of the motion and travel experienced by a passenger as the ride vehicle moves along its particular track structure. That is, it remains desirable to provide an amusement ride which creates an impression of free flight and keeps the track structure away from the passenger sight line. There also exists a need to provide an amusement ride which permits the ride vehicle to be accelerated in ways uncommon to prior art roller coaster designs.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a roller coaster system which is useful with varying track structure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an amusement ride which is subject to acceleration along a path perpendicular to the ride vehicle path.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cantilevered roller coaster design which is capable of employing various supporting strut configurations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an amusement ride for varying the position of a ride vehicle relative to the track structure.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a thrill ride for translating motion along the track structure to a ride vehicle in order to heighten the total ride experience.
In one aspect of the invention, an amusement ride includes a lower track structure operably connected with and variably spaced from an upper track structure to define a path of travel having a changing curvature and/or a changing gauge. A ride vehicle is supported remote from the track structure, and a motion translation arrangement is located between the track structure and the ride vehicle for varying one or both the distance and angular position of the ride vehicle relative to the track structure in response to at least one of the changing curvature and changing gauge of the track structure over the travel path. A drive mechanism is provided for moving the motion translation arrangement and the ride vehicle relative to the track structure.
In one embodiment, the lower track structure includes a pair of parallel lower tracks and the upper track structure includes a pair of parallel upper tracks, the lower and upper tracks having respective center lines spaced apart a variable distance over the path of travel. Each of the lower and upper tracks is tubular and has a circular cross section. The lower and upper tracks are disposed on a support structure located upon a horizontal plane. The motion translation arrangement includes a primary chassis supported for rolling movement along the lower tracks, a secondary chassis supported for rolling movement along the upper tracks, a fulcrum pivotably mounted relative to the secondary chassis and a strut arrangement having a lower end pivotably attached to the primary chassis and an upper end pivotably connected to the ride vehicle, the strut arrangement being mounted for sliding movement back and forth through the fulcrum.
The primary chassis and the secondary chassis are each supported along their respective lower and upper tracks by a set of upper, lower and lateral rollers. The strut arrangement is comprised of an upper tubular strut section and a lower tubular strut section. The lower strut section is pivotably anchored at a bottom end on the primary chassis at a first pivot point lying along the lower track center line and extends upwardly through the fulcrum. The lower strut section has a top end pivotably connected at a second pivot point to a lower end of the upper strut section. The upper strut section has an upper end pivotably connected with a third pivot point on the ride vehicle. The angle of the upper strut section supporting the ride vehicle relative to the lower strut section is varied by the angular rotation of the primary chassis relative to the lower strut section about the first pivot point. This causes the ride vehicle to accelerate through a circular arc about the second pivot point, the acceleration being determined by the rate of change of the angular rotation.
The interior of the lower strut section includes a pair of sliding push rods, each of the rods having an upper end and a lower end. A pair of upper link arms pivotally connects the upper ends of the push rods to the upper strut section, and a pair of lower link arms pivotally connects the lower ends of the push rods to the primary chassis. The push rods and link arms act in a pantographic arrangement permitting any angular rotation of the lower strut section relative to the primary chassis around the first pivot point to be translated to the upper strut section and the ride vehicle. The primary chassis is provided with a rotatable and ratcheted cog wheel which is engageable with a driven link chain to form the drive mechanism for moving the motion translation arrangement and the ride vehicle along the upper and lower track structure. The ride vehicle has a center of gravity arranged to permit the ride vehicle to come to rest in an upright position after being acted upon by centrifugal forces such as executed in a curve of the travel path. The lower strut section includes a flanged, box-beam having a pair of parallel flanged walls engageable with a set of upper and lower pinch rollers mounted inside the fulcrum. A pair of transverse walls connects with the flanged walls and is engageable with a set of upper and lower support rollers mounted inside the fulcrum between the pinch rollers.
In another embodiment, the strut arrangement is comprised of a single tubular strut having a bottom end pivotably anchored at a first pivot point to the primary chassis and extending upwardly through the fulcrum. The single strut section has a top end pivotally attached to a second pivot point on the ride vehicle. The interior of the single strut section includes a pair of sliding push rods, each of the rods having an upper end and a lower end. A pair of upper link arms pivotally connects the upper ends of the push rods directly to the ride vehicle. A pair of lower link arms pivotally connects the lower ends of the push rods to the primary chassis in a pantographic arrangement permitting any angular rotation of the primary chassis around the lower track center line to be translated directly to the ride vehicle.
In yet another embodiment, the lower track structure and the upper track structure are V-shaped in cross section. The motion translation arrangement includes a primary chassis rollably supported along the lower track structure, a secondary chassis rollably supported along the upper track structure, a fulcrum pivotably mounted relative to the secondary chassis, and a strut arrangement having a lower end pivotally attached to the primary chassis and an upper end pivotably mounted to the ride vehicle. The strut arrangement is mounted for sliding movement back and forth through the fulcrum. The strut arrangement is comprised of an upper strut section and a lower strut section pivotably anchored to the primary chassis at a first pivot point lying along the lower track structure center line and extending upwardly through the fulcrum. The lower strut section has a top end pivotally connected at a second pivot point to a lower end of the upper strut section. The upper strut section has an upper end pivotably connected to the ride vehicle. A pair of upper bell cranks is mounted on the upper strut section, a pair of lower bell cranks is attached to the primary chassis and an elongated link arm extends substantially parallel to the lower strut section and is joined between the upper bell cranks and the lower bell cranks. The primary chassis and the secondary chassis are supported along their lower and upper track structure by a set of upper and lower rollers.
In another aspect of the invention, a cantilevered roller coaster system includes a support structure for supporting a lower track structure and an upper track structure, the lower and upper track structures defining a variably curved path of travel. The lower and upper track structures have respective center lines spaced apart a variable distance over the path of travel. A ride vehicle is supported remote from the upper and lower track structure. A primary chassis is supported for movement along the lower track structure, and a secondary chassis is mounted for movement along the upper track structure. A fulcrum is pivotally mounted relative to the secondary chassis. A strut arrangement has a lower end pivotably attached to the primary chassis and an upper end pivotably connected to the ride vehicle. The strut arrangement is mounted for sliding movement back and forth through the fulcrum. With this construction, as the rotational position of the primary chassis around its centerline (which coincides with the first pivot) changes with rotational translation or roll of the lower track along a course of the tracks, the strut arrangement imparts a change in the angular position of the ride vehicle with respect to the tracks. Further, as the distance between or gauge of the upper and lower tracks changes along a course of the tracks, the strut arrangement will slide in the fulcrum and change the position of the ride vehicle linearly along the strut with respect to the tracks.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a roller coaster amusement ride has a compound track structure defining a travel path for a ride vehicle supported remote from the track structure and driven along the travel path. The improvement resides in a dual track structure and a motion translation arrangement located between the track structure and the ride vehicle for varying the distance and angular position of the ride vehicle relative to the track structure in response to the changing curvature, roll and/or gauge of the track structure over the travel path.
Still another aspect of the invention relates to a thrill ride having upper and lower track structures and respective center lines therefor. The track structure is of changing curvature defining a travel path for a ride vehicle supported remote from the track structure and driven along the travel path. The improvement resides in a mechanism for varying the distance between the respective center lines (i.e. gauge) of the upper and lower track structure for varying the rate of acceleration along an axis perpendicular to the travel path as determined by the rate of change of the distance between the respective center lines of the upper and lower track structure over the travel path.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.